Ep 63 - The Importance of Wellbeing in HCPs: an Interview with Holly Monday-Jones

 

Burnout in Healthcare Professionals: Why Ignoring the Signs Could Be Costing You More Than You Think

 

You didn’t choose your career as a HCP because it was easy.
You chose it because you care, deeply. 

You’re the one holding space for clients, juggling appointments, chasing referrals, and wearing more hats than you ever expected when you trained as a healthcare professional. But somewhere along the way, something shifted.

You’re tired, more than tired. That bone-deep fatigue, the creeping cynicism, the lack of joy in work that once lit you up? That’s not just a rough patch. That might be burnout.

In this honest, insightful conversation with Holly, dietitian, critical care team lead, and now founder of HMJ Wellbeing Solutions, we shine a light on burnout in healthcare professionals. 

Not just what it is, but why it happens, how to spot it early, and what you can do (without taking a sabbatical or burning your business to the ground).

Because you can’t pour from an empty cup, and you shouldn’t have to try.

 

A Personal Lens on Burnout

Holly knows burnout not just as a concept, but as a lived experience. With over a decade in critical care dietetics, she reached a point many healthcare professionals quietly hit, exhaustion masked as commitment. 

Her wake-up call? When skipping lunch, staying late, and feeling detached became her new normal.

That turning point led her to specialise in wellbeing for healthcare workers, because she knew what was missing. 

Her story isn’t the focus here, but it sets the tone: burnout can happen to any of us. And it’s not a personal failure. It’s a systemic, silent epidemic.

 

Burnout vs. Poor Wellbeing, What’s the Difference?

We often throw around the word “burnout” like it’s interchangeable with feeling tired or stressed. But it’s much deeper, and much more dangerous, than that.

Burnout is chronic. It builds slowly, showing up as emotional exhaustion, reduced personal accomplishment, and even depersonalisation, a sense of disconnect from your work, your colleagues, sometimes even yourself. 

It’s not just feeling “a bit off.” It’s feeling like you’ve lost the spark that once drove you.

Poor wellbeing, on the other hand, is broader. It includes your mental, emotional, physical, and social health. Burnout is a piece of the puzzle, not the whole picture. 

You can have poor wellbeing without full-blown burnout. And you can be technically “coping” while quietly burning out beneath the surface.

Holly’s systematic review of the research on burnout in dietetics was startling. Only nine eligible studies existed worldwide, none from the UK, and none looking at freelance or private practice. 

Most focused solely on public sector-employed dietitians, leaving a huge gap in understanding the realities of those running their own clinics, freelance practices and businesses.

And yet we know this: in the NHS absenteeism is rising, job retention is falling, and mental health challenges in healthcare are quietly climbing.

So what does this mean for you? If you're self-employed, working from your kitchen table (between school runs, clients, and emails), you may actually be more at risk. 

No one’s checking in on you. There’s no team lead, manager or occupational health referral. You’re the boss, the clinician (and often the marketing manager, creative director, financial controller…), and the last one to take a break.

 

Spotting the Signs Early (Before It’s Too Late)

Burnout doesn’t show up all at once. It creeps in quietly, often disguised as dedication.

You might notice you're more tired than usual, even after a full night’s sleep.
You may feel a growing frustration with work tasks that used to feel easy, or worse, a quiet dread before each client session (I’ve been there).
Perhaps you’ve started beating yourself up for mistakes, or you feel detached, like you’re just going through the motions.

These are early warning signs. They’re not just personality quirks or busy-season stress. They’re red flags.

Holly explains this shift in terms of patterns: 

• when tiredness becomes your default, 
• when joy feels like a distant memory, 
• when you leave work day after day feeling drained and disheartened.

That’s more than a bad week. That’s your body waving the white flag.

And let’s talk about depersonalisation, a term that sounds abstract but feels very real. It’s the sense that you’re watching your life happen from the outside. You’re functioning, but not fully present. You might feel emotionally numb, irritable, or even cynical about work you used to love.

 

Why Caring Professionals Often Neglect Themselves

If you’ve ever skipped lunch because your client session overran or ate your sandwich at your desk whilst catching up with emails or agreed to a “quick favour” at 9pm when you were supposed to be off the clock, you wouldn’t be the first.

As healthcare professionals, especially women, we’re naturally inclined (and often praised) for putting others first. We’re caregivers, often partners and/or parents, colleagues, and business owners. It’s no wonder our own needs fall to the bottom of the list.

But here's the truth: you can't serve from an empty cup. And yet, many of us feel guilty even thinking about prioritising ourselves. Saying no? That feels selfish. Setting boundaries? Uncomfortable. Taking a proper lunch break? A luxury, not something we’re entitled to.

There's also a deeper fear especially in private practice. The fear that if you slow down, your business will too. That you’ll miss an opportunity. That clients will disappear. That saying no means being “less committed.”

Add to that the lingering shadow of NHS culture (where many of us began our careers), where wellbeing can feel like a box-ticking exercise, and it’s no wonder we don’t even know what real self-care looks like anymore.

As Holly wisely points out, self-care isn’t a face mask or a scented candle. (Although, yes, we love a good bubble bath!) Real self-care is recognising when you need support. It's setting boundaries before you're forced to. And it’s having the courage to admit: “I’m not okay, and I need help.”

Because the reality is  burnout doesn’t discriminate but it thrives in silence. And the longer we ignore our needs, the louder the cost becomes.

 

Boundaries that Protect Your Energy

Saying yes is easy. It feels helpful, agreeable even professional. But over time, every unfiltered yes chips away at your time, energy, and sense of control.

So how do you start reclaiming space in your day without guilt?

Holly suggests starting with something deceptively simple: a pause.

Before agreeing to a new task, appointment, or favour, take a breath and say:
“Let me check and get back to you.”
It’s not a no. It’s a moment to evaluate - does this align with my priorities, or am I saying yes out of habit, fear, or obligation?

That pause creates space for intentional choice.

From there, Holly recommends creating a “no list.” Write down two or three things you’re no longer willing to say yes to. Maybe it’s weekend emails. Maybe it’s unpaid collaborations. Maybe it’s back-to-back meetings without breaks. 

Whatever they are, keeping them visible helps you honour your own limits, even in the moment.

And finally: schedule “you time” first.

Block it out before anything else hits your diary. Just like you’d protect a client session, protect your rest, reflection, and joy. Whether it’s a walk, your favourite Netflix series, or an hour to do absolutely nothing, if it’s not in the calendar, it’s likely to get pushed aside.

You could create a model calendar - a weekly layout where your non-negotiables (morning routine, school runs, lunch breaks, CPD time) are already marked. This can be a game-changer as it will show you exactly how much time you have for work, after your most important commitments are diarised. 

It doesn’t mean you have to follow it perfectly. But it gives your week a rhythm that supports you, not just your business.

 

Redefining Wellbeing for Freelance Health Pros

Let’s be honest: most self-care advice isn’t made for freelance healthcare professionals like us.

It’s designed for people with lunch hours, backup cover, and job descriptions that don’t include marketing, bookkeeping, graphic design and chasing invoices. 

When you’re a freelance healthcare professional, you are the business. Which means your wellbeing doesn’t just matter, it’s mission critical.

Holly gets this. That’s why her wellbeing framework doesn’t start with generic advice like “drink more water” or “try meditation.” Instead, it’s tiered and responsive. It recognises that some days, you need quick, grounding strategies. Other days, you need deeper support, accountability, or practical tools for setting boundaries that stick.

What makes her approach different?
It’s designed by a healthcare professional, for healthcare professionals. It’s grounded in reality, compassion, and context, not one-size-fits-all wellness tropes.

This isn’t about telling you to “do less.” It’s about helping you do the right things for where you are right now.

Because wellbeing isn’t a destination you arrive at, it’s a moving target. And support that adapts with you is what keeps you going, especially when everything else feels hard.

 

For the Ones Who Keep Pushing Through

If you’re reading this and thinking, “I’m fine, it’s just a busy season,” pause for a moment.

Because here’s the thing: burnout doesn’t always look like a breakdown. Sometimes it looks like high-functioning exhaustion. Like getting it all done but feeling increasingly numb while you do it.

As Holly says, pushing through isn’t a strategy, it’s a warning sign.

You are not lazy. You are not broken. You’re a human being navigating a deeply demanding role, often without support. And the longer you push through, the harder it is to stop.

So instead of asking, “How do I keep going?” try asking:
“What’s one thing I can let go of today that’s costing me more than it’s giving back?”

• Maybe it’s a blog post that doesn’t need to be written today.
• Maybe it’s an unpaid task for a colleague, a brand or a media outlet that drains your energy.
• Maybe it’s the pressure to be “on” all the time, responding to enquiries, commenting on posts.

Even creating just ten minutes of breathing room can change how you show up for the next ten hours.

You don’t need to overhaul everything. You don’t even need a full week off (although if you can, please take it!). What you do need is permission, from yourself, to pause. To check in. To start honouring your own limits the way you honour your clients’.

 

Discover Your Burnout Risk

Sometimes the hardest part is admitting you’re not okay, especially when everything looks “fine” from the outside. That’s exactly why Holly created the Healthcare Professional Burnout Barometer.

It’s a quick, confidential self-assessment that helps you understand where you stand across four key areas:

• Physical health and lifestyle
  
  
• Mental and emotional wellbeing
  
  
• Workplace and career health
  
  
• Social connection and personal relationships
  
  

In just two minutes (yes, really), you’ll get four percentage scores and a personalised wellbeing report with small, actionable steps to move forward, without overwhelm, shame, or complexity.

Why does this matter?
Because awareness is the first step to change. And too many healthcare professionals wait until burnout is full-blown before reaching out for help.

The Barometer is a gentle, practical way to check in with yourself and course-correct before things go too far. And if you want to go deeper, Holly also offers 40-minute Wellbeing Discovery Sessions to unpack your results and explore what sustainable support could look like for you.

This isn’t about fixing yourself. It’s about finally getting the clarity and care you give so freely to others.

 

Let’s Make Wellbeing a Priority, Not a Luxury

You became a healthcare professional to make a difference. But you were never meant to do that at the cost of your own health.

Burnout doesn’t make you weak. It makes you human. And the truth is, prioritising your wellbeing isn’t indulgent, it’s intelligent. Because when you’re resourced, rested, and respected (by yourself and others), everything changes. Your energy. Your creativity. Your confidence. Your business.

This isn’t about doing less for your clients. It’s about doing more for you, so you can continue showing up for them, without burning out in the process.

You don’t need to wait for a breakdown to make a breakthrough. You can choose to check in, set boundaries, and build systems that support you, starting today.

Because you deserve the same level of care you give to everyone else. And that starts with saying: “I matter, too.”

 

The Master Plan:

Helping you build the business of your dreams. Get your 22 point step-by step workbook here: https://www.sarahalmondbushell.com/master-plan

Connect with me:

Website: https://www.sarahalmondbushell.com/

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Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/beyondtheclinicbusiness

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BeyondTheClinicPodcast

 

Episode transcription:

Sarah Bushell (00:00)

Welcome along, Holly. I am so pleased to have you here today because you are going to be talking about a topic that is very close to my heart. And I know it's going to be so important for a lot of my clients and my colleagues and my friends. But before we dive into exactly what that is, do you want to just quickly introduce yourself and let people know a little bit about who you are and what you do?

 

Holly (00:21)

Yeah, so my name's Holly. I am a dietitian, just like probably most of your listeners, and have been for 14 years this year, so quite a long time. I've always worked in acute critical care settings. But this week, I'm launching my business, HMJ Wellbeing Solutions, which is aimed at focusing on the wellbeing and burnout prevention of healthcare professionals.

 

Sarah Bushell (00:51)

Awesome, such a needed thing. So I'd love to know a little bit about how you got to that stage. So you've had a long career in critical care and as a surgical dietitian as well, I think. What prompted that pivot into entrepreneurship?

 

Holly (01:08)

Yeah, I've trained to be a dietitian straight from school, graduated in 2011, and I've spent all of my career actually working in clinical areas, acute working areas, specialised in surgical and critical care dietetics pretty early on in my career. And I've kind of progressed through the NHS bands, if you will.

I was band five and band six, band seven, and my current role is acute dietetic team lead, which is a role I still hold part time. And I progressed actually fairly slowly. So I was a band five for years, which is quite rare now, I think. And at the time, I wasn't bothered about progressing quickly. I was exposed to a lot at that time clinically and learned a lot about myself, predominantly things like, different people, other personality types, different learning styles, communication methods, for example, which has probably changed my direction a little bit as I've gotten older and kind of got me more into the kind of team lead kind of role that I'm in now. So growing up, I've always been encouraged to talk about my emotions and feelings no matter what they really were. So my mum was a mental health project manager. So it wasn't ever something that I was afraid of particularly.

But I learned in university and more so when I became a dietitian that people don't like talking or they really struggle to talk about themselves and particularly their struggles. And unfortunately, there still seems to be a bit of a stigma attached to talking honestly and openly, especially around health and wellbeing. So my work in surgical and critical care areas kind of exposed me to mental health more in that.

Psychological health is something that we openly talk to a lot of those patients about. And they have, lot of my patients have great difficulty talking about psychological health just generally. So I became quite passionate about wellbeing just generally, patient wellbeing in the beginning, because of my exposure to it. But then when I became a team lead, I was exposed to like, honestly, absolutely loads of things I had never come across before in my life.

And like really crazy stuff, really probably like COVID is probably the best one. And even just things like, staff members needing support, finding housing, dealing with relationship breakdowns and like the menopause and things like that. it opened up a new realm for me, professionally. And when COVID in particular hit, it was definitely the most difficult moment in my career and my life probably so far, leading a team and supporting them through things that they've never come across before, really heartbreaking at times. And although some support services became available during that time, they were kind of quickly taken away to a certain extent and they weren't that personalized or effective.

And round about that time as well, I work in Wales and I dealt with kind of degree format changes in Wales around that time too. So where undergraduate degrees changed from typically like four years to three years. And both of those things kind of seemed to flick a bit of a switch in acute dietetics. Well, for me anyway. And there was an increase in capability issues, some of them significant and it led to completely new ways of working. So I was becoming more aware of staff wellbeing and burnout. It made me want to do something to change the stigma a little bit.

In my actual current role, I became a wellbeing champion and also an engagement ambassador. And it led to me developing development and wellbeing programmes for not just acute dietetics, but for a period of time, the dietetic department I worked in and also the wider therapy department in my trust as well. So as I say, I still work in the NHS as a team lead, but I've wanted to get more involved with external work outside of my NHS role for some time. So I think entrepreneurship is the perfect way for me to help more people, particularly in a group I'm passionate about, which is healthcare professionals. And I've done a lot of work on wellbeing and burnout within healthcare over the last few years. So I feel more confident to explore it now.

 

Sarah Bushell (05:03)

Brilliant, that's great. And did you say that you've done a master's degree in burnout as well? What's been the most sort of surprising things that you've uncovered about burnout in our profession in particular?

 

Holly (05:15)

Yeah, so I completed a systematic review. So it was basically about the adverse well-being and burnout in dietetics. So it looked at dietitians and then also dietetic assistants. I know some people call dietetic assistants different names, so like support workers, for example. And probably the most surprising thing, and it still kind of blows my mind a little bit, is that I was the first person to complete that collective research in 2022. And honestly, I still think, why was that not done much earlier? It just seems a bit weird.

And another surprising thing is that up until the time of my research, there were actually only nine studies that were eligible for my review. And actually they looked at wellbeing and burnout within dietitians, not within dietetic departments. So no study existed in relation to support workers. No study had been done in the UK at all either. And most of the studies of the nine, a few were Australia, a few were America, a couple were South America and a couple in Europe, but honestly, there wasn't much at all. And out of all the studies that were eligible, we were found to have collectively, so in all of the studies that I looked at, low to moderate levels of burnout, which when you're reading it, as a dietitian, you just think, no, that's not right. There was one study that looked at burnout before and after the first year of the COVID pandemic, and burnout was seen to be moderate to high in that group. And honestly, think maybe COVID has maybe, switched it up a little bit in terms of allowing us to be a bit freer with, the way that we speak But the studies were all different in terms of numbers and participants. The methods of burnout and wellbeing were different.

And it just kind of highlights that well-being and burnout are complex. You can't just measure it in one way. And actually, they all relied on self-perception at a particular time. And obviously, things change all the time and how people feel change. So the research was too limited, in my opinion, and that was kind of my conclusion of it. But what we do know, especially since COVID, is that absenteeism, which is the time spent away from work, is going up. And job retention rates are going down in the NHS and mental health in particular has been found in NHS workforce surveys to play a major role from my research.

 

Sarah Bushell (07:22)

Yeah, and of course that's all NHS, isn't it? And our listeners are more likely to be freelance health care professionals. Was any of those reviews that you looked at, you know, even across the world based on non-employee dietitians? 

 

Holly (07:38)

No, no none. In fact, actually, private dietetics, it was almost like it didn't exist. And I found that quite interesting as well, because it kind of, well, obviously, none of the studies were from the UK, but they were all public services, basically, and public service led dietetics. it's, there's a lot more to us than just the NHS and public service, you know, there's, private practice, there's food service, there's lots, there's lots of us and I didn't think it represented us as a group at all really.

 

Sarah Bushell (08:09)

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. It's interesting, actually, I had my mastermind group call this morning, the Accelerate program that I help people with their businesses. And we had a long discussion about freelance dietitians, they're all dietitians in the group. And how there's a perception that somehow if you're freelance, you might be not as qualified, not as good as an NHS. And it's a really horrible perception to have.

But from the market research that I've done with my own audience and really understanding their pain points and things that they struggle with, there is this feeling of feeling a little bit shady, a little bit underhand for being freelancer and almost not as worthy as somebody in the NHS, for example. And so I guess my point is it's not surprising that the research hasn't been done outside of the NHS. And I know we are quite a small group. But yeah, it kind of just further reinforces that point about freelance has probably not been accounted for in a lot of work.

 

Holly (09:12)

Yeah. And actually just on that point, you know, in the NHS to a certain extent, it's an organisation where they've got policies and procedures and you're kind of monitored in private practice. Well, a lot of freelance dietitians that I know, they're kind of on their own, they're managing absolutely loads, not just the dietetic side of things, but like the admin side, everything themselves. So actually, I'd say they're probably more at risk in a lot of ways.

 

Sarah Bushell (09:36)

Of burnout, absolutely. Yeah, yeah. And actually, I think that leaves us in quite nicely into the next question I had for you around. So I know that the people who listen to my podcast are all high achieving, they're really compassionate healthcare professionals. So probably high at risk of burnout. What are some of the early warning signals or signs that somebody might have if they're on that path towards burnout, even if they don't really feel that they're there yet. Is there anything, any sort of early warning signs that they could be aware of?

 

Holly (10:09)

Yeah. So from my experience, I say the first early signs are probably feelings of fairly consistent tiredness and more consistent kind of lack of satisfaction while working, which kind of leads them into a habit of being negative about work. So, for example, if you're coming away from work feeling tired, there's normally a reason for that.

And, you know, everyone has their off days and I'm not talking about coming home from work once feeling tired and dissatisfied. I'm talking about pattern and repetition of feeling that way. So if you're always coming home from work feeling tired, there's a reason for it. It's health related. It's potentially overwork, lack of rest, and it typically doesn't get better without significant thought process. again, if you're always coming away from work and you're starting to be dissatisfied about work,

For example, things like you don't like your workplace or your team or you don't like a work process that's been implemented or you're beating yourself up over a piece of work that you've done and that could be a red flag in itself. And and just to say on that point actually if people don't know and burnout and well-being are different, okay, so burnout is a longer-term predictor of predominantly physical but also psychological and social well-being.

But wellbeing consists of many factors. Burnout is a part of it. So someone might not be burnt out, but they might have poor overall wellbeing and vice versa really, which makes things kind of difficult, lots of blurred lines. But what's interesting is that burnout actually originated within the healthcare setting, which is, for me, it's fascinating because actually it's considered more now in other settings from a strategy point of view.

 

Sarah Bushell (11:46)

Okay.

 

Holly (11:53)

I'm not saying we don't think about it in healthcare, but it's not as predominant in the agenda. so burnout is typically defined as extreme exhaustion in response to prolonged organisational stress or exposure to work related stresses. then reduced personal accomplishment, as well as something called depersonalisation, have been found to be consequences of extreme exhaustion. So leading to kind of burnout as a whole.

So depersonalization is a feeling of detachment or disconnection from yourself. So it can be like accompanied by a sense of emotional numbness, if you will. And it can be a symptom of various mental health conditions on their own. So like anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, or panic disorder, or it can occur on its own. But it's significantly linked to negative or cynical feelings about work, and they often overlap.

So what I would say is that as humans are psychologically and physiologically created to cope. And you see that all the time in clinical work. So for example, eating disorder or mental health patients who might eat very, very little, but get used to that and are not always in crisis point. And surgical patients who might have high output stomas, but then actually their biochemistry stabilises because the body gets used to patterns and normalises them, even if they're not fantastic.

You might not feel that you're burnt out, but you actually might be. And as I said before, you might also not be burnt out, but you may have poor wellbeing in another area of life. So for example, limited social connection, but you have to be aware of that, of the change and then prioritize it.

 

Sarah Bushell (13:28)

Yeah, yeah, that's so interesting. I was just as you were talking there, I was just reflecting on my own experience of burnout. And I think that's when we initially got in touch at the end of last year, just before Christmas. And I had got to a point and I think I've been going on for months if I think back now, but I've got to a point where there was a certain point in my working day where my eyes started to ache and I couldn't see the words on the screen properly. And I had my glasses on, my glasses off.

 

Holly (13:37)

Yeah.

 

Sarah Bushell (13:56)

You know, there was no like headache. There was no blurred vision or anything like that. And I just thought I need to go away and do something else. And that was just the drive to leave this office and go, you know, stand and fold washing in the kitchen. You know, it was just doing something different. And yeah, so I think I took two weeks off over Christmas, properly off, not like freelance off where you still check on your emails and social media posts like properly off. And that really, really helped. And I think not only was it the rest, it also helped in terms of just giving you that space to reflect and go, you know what, I was probably doing too much back then. And, know, after that, it came back in January and it's like, right, okay, what can I do less of? What can I outsource? What can I get help with? What needs to be done, what actually is just a nice to have and can be parked for six months. And that was a real eye-opener for me, just having that time to reflect.

 

Holly (14:53)

No, absolutely. we, we talk about it well in, in wellbeing, we talk about kind of breaks a lot, but actually there are probably smaller things that you can do. Cause obviously not everybody can take time off, know, so breaks are fantastic, but if you are really, really struggling and you can't actually take a week off or a couple of weeks off, that's where someone like me might be able to help really.

 

Sarah Bushell (15:16)

So I would love to know, I would love to get your opinion actually on why we as a profession, particularly dietitians and probably other healthcare professionals as well, we focus so much on helping other people. And I think maybe it's not just helping other people in terms of our work, it could be the fact that we are wives and mothers and caregivers and looking after elderly parents and you know running households and doing all of that sort of stuff. I think we often overlook our own needs and I just wonder what your perception is or what your thoughts are around why perhaps not looking after ourselves enough is so common with us.

 

Holly (15:54)

Yeah. As I've kind of said before, I think it's probably a combination of things. And I think you're right, you know, we are so trained to think about the people we care for. Sometimes I think we've lost sight of our own needs. And I say it a lot before you can kind of care for others or to care for others well, you have to care for yourself. And there are lots of studies showing nutrition, for example, as a wellbeing intervention in patient groups.

But there are nine studies focusing on the wellbeing of dietitians. And for me, that speaks volumes. So I think I've said as well that there's a stigma associated with talking about health openly and honestly, and people are still fairly worried, I think, to be labeled as, you know, not coping. And you see that in the NHS context a lot. And from the people I speak to actually in the freelance world, you know, just as much.

People don't want to be referred to occupational health because they're worried what that means. Financial pressures and job security is probably a factor too. So the fear of being replaced or actually their business not being, you know, as well run or as busy or they might lose clients, for example, it's very, very real.

But I also think that we lack awareness of what self care actually is and what it looks like for us individually, like self care can be really complicated in that it's really variable. So some days self care is a hobby that you love or a TV series that you've been wanting to watch for ages. But other days when you're struggling, self care is brushing your teeth or having a shower. Do know what I mean? So it's awareness of how self neglect can like, what I would call manifest, is really important because it's different for everyone. And also individually, it's different at different times, at different stages of life, or even different days of the week depending on what's going on.

 

Sarah Bushell (17:41)

Yeah, yeah, so it's all about giving yourself the grace and time to do whatever you need on that particular day. Yeah, yeah, brilliant, cool. Okay, let's talk a little bit about boundaries. So for someone who's used to saying yes to everything, which I think a lot of freelancers are because it's work after all.

 

Holly (17:47)

Yeah. Yeah, absolutely.

 

 

Sarah Bushell (18:05)

What's one small but really powerful way to start reclaiming your time and your energy in your day?

 

Holly (18:12)

So when I was making notes, I found it really hard to just think of one small thing. So I made a list of three things and I'd like to talk about them all. But I will say probably the smallest and most powerful first step is to pause before you say yes, even if it's just for a few seconds. And when someone asks for your time, what I typically would say to someone is, try responding with something like, let me check and get back to you. And it gives you the space to reflect on whether the request kind of aligns with your priorities or if it's something you're agreeing to out of habit or guilt or fear of conflict. And it's not a full no at that point, but it kind of creates what we call the habit of intentional response rather than an automatic agreement. So over time, that pause becomes your kind of gateway to healthier boundaries.

A couple of other small things to consider and this is what I typically do. So I make a no list, which I know sounds a bit crazy, but it works really, really well. So write down two or three things that you no longer want to say yes to. And it could be meetings without agendas, last minute favors. It could be weekend work. It could be whatever you want it to be, but keep the list visible to you and it helps you recognize and honor your own limits before you put on the spot.

So that pause over time makes you more confident. We already know it's a no because it's on the no list. And then the third thing, and we mentioned this just a little bit before, is scheduling you time before scheduling in anyone else's time. So actually blocking out personal time in your calendar before committing to others is really, important. If you treat it like any other appointment that is non-negotiable, it makes it easier again to say, I'm already booked then, sorry. So there are my three small but powerful things.

 

Sarah Bushell (19:59)

Yeah, I think that's great. think very similar to the sort of things that I often say to people is, know, particularly in our profession, if you get asked to chair a committee or, go on someone's podcast or, know, something that sounds, yeah, that's really good. That's really exciting. I often say to people, run that through the filter of your business. Will this help you move your business forward or is it a distraction?

 

Because quite often, they can be like nice little shiny objects, but they don't actually take you where you need to go. So I guess that's kind of similar to that pause and check your list kind of thing. Yeah, absolutely. And the other thing that we often do is we map out our model calendar, I call it. So this is where we just might just have like a Google calendar that's an overlay on top of your normal calendar where you've got all your non-negotiables blocked in.

 

Holly (20:33)

Exactly.

 

Sarah Bushell (20:54)

So, you know, for me, it used to always be the school run because I wanted to be the parent who was at the school gates. I actually put in some set time for CPD because I'm someone who just goes down to CPD rabbit hole. And before I know it, I spent three days on this particular topic. So just like putting some designated time in for that. And then things like lunch breaks. You know, how often do we not take lunch breaks or you think, I will take a lunch break, but actually I'll sit and flick through my copy of dietetics today at the same time. No, that's not a lunch break. 

 

Holly (21:25)

Yeah, no, exactly. Yeah.

And you mentioned now as well about, so like the school run and just to mention this point, because I have a lot of people say stuff like this to me and doing the school run isn't a break in my opinion. Doing housework. I mean, I've got kids, I know. Doing, you know, housework, it's not, it's actually not you time, is it? You're still doing something for other people.

So actually I wouldn't be putting doing the school, obviously, prioritise it, put it on your calendar, but I wouldn't put it as the you time category. I mean, like having a bubble bath or watching a really good series that you've wanted to watch for ages and blocking off an hour of time, know, whatever it is, that's for you and not for other people, even outside of work. Yeah.

 

Sarah Bushell (22:10)

Fair, point. Awesome. Awesome. Right. So I want you to tell us a little bit now about your service. So you said you've got this tiered wellbeing service that you're launching this this week specifically for healthcare professionals. Can you tell us a little bit about what makes your approach different from that sort of typical self-care advice and why that's really important for us?

 

Holly (22:33)

Yeah, so typical self-care advice often puts the kind of burden of wellbeing solely on us as individuals. So we just said it there, know, things like taking a bubble bath or lighting a candle or whatever it is without actually addressing the deeper emotional challenges that healthcare professionals face. So as a dietitian, I've seen firsthand how unrealistic and generic advice can feel when you're of overwhelmed, short on time and you're caring for others all day, not just in work, but also at home. And that's why I've designed some wellbeing services to offer something more practical and more compassionate. So there are wellbeing services out there, just to mention, really quite decent ones too.

But what makes my approach different is that, number one, I'm a dietitian and a healthcare professional and other health and wellbeing services typically don't primarily focus on healthcare professionals, where actually they're the only people I'm trying to kind of capture, if that makes sense. So my approach is what I call tiered and responsive. So it meets people where they are, not just where they wish they were. And it recognizes that wellbeing isn't just a one size fits all kind of thing. Some days you need quick grounding strategies, other times you need peer support, boundary tools, or larger interventions.

And so by structuring it in tiers, we kind of acknowledge that self-care isn't just about individual behaviour, it's about capacity, context, community, and that we're actually all in this together. And that's really important for people in care roles who often put their own needs last. So the model that I've got makes making care for the caregiver sustainable, not just aspirational, I guess.

 

Sarah Bushell (24:17)

I wondered actually if you could share a little story about someone who's maybe worked with you and how you've managed to shape their well-being, turn themselves around and what helped them do that.

 

Holly (24:28)

Yeah, so the best story I probably got is about, let's call her Sarah, keep it anonymous. She had been a dietitian for nearly 15 years and she was deeply committed to her patients and work. The kind of person who'd stay late at work regularly, who'd skip lunch and honestly in her free times, like reading research papers and well into the night, but she was burning out basically. She stopped sleeping well, she felt distracted because she lacked energy, probably because her meals were rushed or skipped.

She started feeling very negative at work, which was something that scared her. And she even explored working in other areas, which went outside of her passions and skill set, which threw her off. And it was that that actually led her to consider her own wellbeing a bit more. And it was because she was finding it difficult to say no. She actually decided she needed help to rectify that because of how she felt and was made to feel when she said no. So she nearly didn't turn up to the assertiveness session she had booked herself onto in her own free time.

She questioned if it would help and if it was really needed, but she went and she learned about writing a small no list and pausing before agreeing to things and even role played how she would communicate that with others. And that was the key for Sarah. It was a small thing, but it was something that she knew she needed to work on if she was going to stay in dietetics. She started to remember that saying no isn't a weakness. But just to say that six months after that, Sarah didn't become a yoga loving, green juice loving person.

But she started to eat and actually sleep better. And she stayed in dietetics because she wanted to and felt that she could. And even now, Sarah has the ability to check in with herself and she has the tools to be able to do that and gain support with her wellbeing when she needs to and doesn't feel bad for needing that. And I know all this about Sarah because she is me, probably eight years ago now. And I'm sharing that story because honestly, no one is a superhuman and has it together all the time.

 

I certainly don't either. That's the point. Well-being is completely contextual, completely situational. And I unfortunately had to learn some really hard lessons in some really hard ways. And my situation made me think about other healthcare professional situations. And over time, when I became a well-being champion at work, to essentially help other people learn what I had to learn the hard way. So I'd be lying if I said I eat lunch all the time and that I never leave work late anymore, but...

You know, sometimes I have awesome times and sometimes I'll go through some real hardships which will need support. That's life, isn't it? But it's not negative. It's not embarrassing. It's real. And that's what being a human is. And actually how you adapt, change and grow is what matters. And how actually healthcare professionals can come together to help each other is also really important because as I've said, we're all in this together.

 

Sarah Bushell (27:06)

Yeah, awesome. Thank you so much for sharing your story. That's really powerful. And you know what, when you come to marketing your offers, always refer back to that because you've got that lived experience. You'll be able to bring across the emotion, the passion. You'd be able to connect with people on a really deep level because of that. So thank you so much for sharing that. That's great. Okay. So for someone listening who is exhausted right now, but is pushing through because business won't run itself, what would you say to them?

 

Holly (27:38)

I would say you are not lazy or broken for feeling exhausted. You're a human being and pushing through isn't a strategy. It's a massive warning sign. I know and understand the pressures, especially in healthcare, and it feels like sometimes stopping isn't an option. But the truth is that your business doesn't thrive when you're surviving. It thrives when you are resourced, clear and present.

So instead of asking, how do I keep going? try asking yourself instead what's one thing I can let go of today that's costing me more than it's giving back and even if it's just 10 minutes of space it can change how you move through the next 10 hours. You don't necessarily need a week off to start healing obviously if you have time off then great go for it but you need permission from yourself to pause and to know that doing less is sometimes the most strategic move that you can make.

 

Sarah Bushell (28:33)

So finally, before we wrap up for our listeners who've really resonated with what you said today, can you tell us a little bit about how they can make contact to you, what the first steps might be? That would be awesome.

 

Holly (28:46)

Yeah, so obviously not everyone who's listening today is going to think, I love Holly and what she stands for and I must work with her. Totally get that. And that's completely okay and realistic. And honestly, I only want to work with people that I want to work with me too. So I know I've talked a little bit about my services, but I didn't want to do it too much because I actually want to highlight two main questions. Are you burned out? And do you have some element of poor wellbeing that might affect your risk of burnout?

So a lot of people listening today won't necessarily know or they might actually know and be putting change off because the thought process of change is hard or complex. And that is why I've created an assessment to identify adverse wellbeing and burnout risk within healthcare professionals. And from that create small recommendations that can be implemented over time to help your health, wellbeing and burnout risk longer term.

So the assessment is called the Healthcare Professional Burnout Barometer and it looks at four main categories. So it looks at physical health and lifestyle, mental and emotional health, workplace and career health and social connection and personal relationships. And when you complete the assessment, you'll get four different percentage scores out of 100. You'll get a free wellbeing report from that, highlighting easy actions that you can implement. It literally takes two minutes to complete, probably less than that.

I think it's super useful. Obviously, I'll share the link with Sarah so she can share it with all of you. But if you want further information from there, you can book into one of our 40-minute Wellbeing Discovery group sessions where we talk more about the importance of wellbeing for healthcare professionals. But as I said before, the one thing I'd say about my services, we offer a multitude of different approaches and hopefully there's something for everyone there from an accessibility and affordability point of view.

We're on Facebook and Instagram. So on Facebook, you can find us if you search for HMJ Wellbeing Solutions and on Instagram, our name is @ HMJ Wellbeing. Or you can email us on [email protected] if you've got any further questions or you want any further information.

 

Sarah Bushell (30:44)

Brilliant. And I'll put all of those links in the show notes so that people can just click on them and get directly there. Awesome. Well, thank you so much for your time today. I think it's been a really, really important conversation to have, particularly for us in the freelance world who work wearing so many hats, you know, in order to run a business. I'm pretty sure that we're all bordering somewhere on burnout at one point or another in our careers. So that's been really, really important. Thank you so much.

 

Holly (30:47)

Amazing. Perfect. And keep up with me.

 

I'm glad. Thank you.